SeeCalifornia.com

When a house is for sale, it’s called Open House. However, there’s a type of Open House in which the house is NOT for sale, never will be, and the property is SO special, you must pay a fee just to see it. California has over 100 such “houses” ranging from haunted to historic, castles to mansions, villas to museums.

Special “houses” to see:

• Hearst Castle (left photo) is so big that tours cover mere portions of the property in San Simeon. (See views, indoor pool)
• Henry Huntington’s home at Huntington Library, Art Museum & Gardens (2nd from left) includes famous paintings such as Pinkie and Blue Boy, plus many rare collections and artwork. Huntington was an avid collector of books and art, and you can see a small portion on display when touring his San  Marino estate.
• Winchester Mystery House (third photo from left) has a stairway to nowhere. It just runs into the wall. There are countless oddities to see in the unusual, haunted mansion in San Jose.
• Camarillo Ranch  (right photo) tours feature true stories about the the man who collected and bred stunning, white Camarillo horses. You’ll often see them in the finest parades.
• Be prepared to wear cloth booties over your shoes when you tour the Gamble House in Pasadena. You’ll be walking on original flooring that contains rare woods. The house is known for its unique architectural style.
• Getty Villa in Malibu (Pacific Palisades) is a regal estate contains irreplaceable statues, coins, currency and pottery from ancient Rome. It is one of the most amazing and rarest collections in the world.
• Filoli in Woodside was the setting for Dynasty with the Carringtons. You can see gold-painted crown moldings and a massive fireplace inside the mansion.

Thanks to Berylee Baker for suggesting this story idea!